“The moment! Once you miss it, it is gone forever.”
Most photographers must have known to whom this sentence belongs. Henri Cartier Bresson. This French photographer believes that photography is not similar to painting. There is a little disparity of creativity when pictures are taken. We have to be aware of the timely composition or expression and know exactly intuitively when we should press the button. This is crucial due to photographer’s capturing moments. Once you miss it, it is gone forever. The worst part is; I often lose those crucial moments.
Sometimes, when I am in a good spot, which is I think having a dramatic ambience and subject’s perfect expression, unluckily I forget to bring my camera. Or, there is a time when I am readily holding a camera, waiting for long in a spot which I think is interesting, and unfortunately, my intuition does not work well. The result is obvious: I gain nothing special.
Experimenting Probably, I was too obsessed with Bresson’s photos at that time. Hence, every time I saw hundreds of frames that I had taken, I saw them to be disappointing because I was not capable of capturing any decisive moment like Bresson was. To deal with that disappointment, I start to make some experiments on everything I perceive whatever it is.
Everything that interests me, like a huge billboard in the corner of town, colorful tram, big road surface marking and line on the road to guide drivers and pedestrians, line and shape on the architecture of overpass or metro subway, shadow of a still or moving object, also reflection on the billboard glass. Playing with lines, shapes and shadows can sometimes change the ordinary to something special.
Also when doing an experiment on the reflection on the glass, sometimes I can get some unpredictable photos. To be honest, there is no particular trick in the process of photographing reflection on that glass. Usually, I only use a wide lens and appoint it closer to the glass, and minimize the possibility of a direct contact with sunlight. This is important to avoid too much glass flare, except if we desire some particular effects.
All the variants that I have mentioned above lines, shapes and shadows– are the dominating aspects of my today’s photos. At the beginning, I practice with a digital medium, but nowadays, I do it with a film one. By examining both, I gain a different satisfaction. For some particular effects that I cannot get from the digital medium, I can get them from the film one, and vice versa.
I do not want to make such dichotomy because in my opinion, both are just the media to make interesting pictures. Almost all of my photos are dominated by black and white. This happens because I think black-and-white can give me much more chances to express those dominating elements in this case, shapes and shadows.
Besides, some subjects do not have too many colors. An Intriguing Stage Luckily, I live in Hong Kong. This nation used to be under the colonization of England, but now, there are seven millions people live in it. This makes me capable of doing the street experiments freely. Some tourists with their cameras, or citizens with their hectic and negligent habit; these are some of the reasons why I feel free on the experiments.
Besides, a friend told me, Hong Kong has been giving its intriguing “stage” which is interesting to capture: from its modern townscape to the irony of its megapolitan citizens. In the end, I consider that we do not necessarily use a large camera when photographing in a public place; at least when taking snapshot photos. How negligent is the people around us, I am sure that they will be inconvenient when they find a long lens appointing.
Besides, lately, I realize that how interesting is the geometric shape that I capture, it will be sour without any human element in it.
